Page 29 of Devil's Haunting
“I love you, Tripp.”
My tears fall, but they don’t contain sadness, only relief. This is my life. This is the place I was always meant to find. And I did because the hand of fate played its part, and I walked the path that was meant for me.
Now I have so much more than I could have ever imagined. I have Tripp, but I also have the club which is just a huge family. I have a home. I have roots, something I never really considered setting down.
I have a place to belong.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
Tripp kisses my tears away, collecting them like they are precious. Maybe they are, but he’s the only one who would ever think so.
“Wrap your limbs around me and hold on, Mischief-maker,” he demands.
I don’t question him, I simply listen.
He dismounts his bike, keeping it steady while still being buried inside of me. It’s quite a feat really and I’m fucking impressed. Then he’s stalking up the stairs and into the house. He doesn’t stop until he’s laid us out on our combined air mattress pallet.
The feeling of his cock hardening fully while still buried inside of me and stretching me is strange but not unwelcome. Hell no, I welcome everything this man can make me feel. Always
He strips his clothes and then proceeds to fuck me hard and fast, sealing our words with vows unspoken.
Perhaps the house will always be haunted. I’m okay with it. I know I’ve broken the curse by falling for this man. He’s not a Landry and I am not my great aunt. We will find happiness here amongst the spirits and, hopefully, there is enough peace in that to find a future.
CHAPTER 12
HAMMER
The sound of drums close by filters into my dreamscape, but it makes no fucking sense. The crew is off today which means there shouldn’t be any work being done. There shouldn’t be any drumming happening.
I sit up suddenly, the grip I have on Laiken bringing her with me. She groans and tries to burrow in my chest, which is adorable, but a distraction I can’t afford at the moment.
“Wake up, Laiken,” I murmur forcefully.
She blinks up at me a few times and then her eyebrows pull together in confusion. I can only nod because, yeah, she’s starting to understand why we need to be awake right now.
I don’t know what is going on, but drums are basically the last sound we should be hearing. Then, when I listen a little closer, there’s the cadence and softness of a woman’s voice chantingunderneath the sound of the drums.
She must hear it too because we both scramble from the bed at the same time, reaching for clothes and pulling them on quickly, not really caring what it is we slip on.
Laiken hisses, “You undressed me last night outside at your bike and didn’t bring in those clothes.”
“We’ll grab them once we figure out what the fuck that noise is and why it sounds like it’s getting louder,” I promise.
She shoots me a look but doesn’t argue. I’m taking it as a win. For now.
When I hold my hand out for her, she slips her hand into mine and we move toward the door together. Side by side. It’s how we’ll face life from now on.
Remembering last night, I almost can’t believe that she told me she loves me. I knew she was feeling it; it was obvious. I just wasn’t sure how long it was going to take for her to admit it, but I’m glad she finally did. It was getting increasingly difficult not to shout my love for my woman out for all of New Orleans to witness.
Now, it’s out there and I couldn’t be happier. She loves me.
Fuck. It’s almost too good to be true.
I give her hand a squeeze and she squeezes right back as we open the door and step out into the house. As we make our way toward the front of the house, I can feel the vibrations of the drums and something like footsteps or a dance through my feet. The woman’s voice grows in volume and intensity as well.
When we step into the room the sound is coming from, Laiken and I freeze in place.
There, in the main part of the house, is Rene. She’s surrounded by white drawings on the floor, has a drum in her hand and is wearing a flowing white dress splattered in blood. There are bowls surrounded by candles where the nexus of the symbols on the ground seem to be. If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say the bowls are filled with blood.
